


Convalescence

by Erazon



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Minor emetophobia warning, obligatory sickfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-13
Updated: 2020-02-13
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:20:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22695421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erazon/pseuds/Erazon
Summary: Cassandra doesn't really 'do' the whole getting sick thing. Unfortunately, travelling on the road with the company Rapunzel had chosen hadn't really leant itself to great general hygiene. Of course, her idea of dealing with the situation is to buckle down and get over it, but Rapunzel has other plans.Set before The Great Tree in S2.
Relationships: Cassandra/Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 241





	Convalescence

**Author's Note:**

> Set before The Great Tree in S2, minor warning for Emetophobia but it's nothing super graphic

Rapunzel blinked sluggishly as her eyes adjusted to the dim light of the caravan. It was near pitch black, with only a sliver of moonlight slipping through the cracks of the window’s curtains. Her mind had barely cleared, but still she was able to consider it strange that she had woken up at all. She didn’t have the urge to use the bathroom, none of her limbs had fallen asleep on her, and she certainly hadn’t had a nightmare. There was nothing but the gentle snoozing of Eugene, the occasional snorts and snuffles from Lance or Hookfoot, and the chirping of crickets- 

Agitated rustling broke the peaceful nighttime song, and Rapunzel felt an elbow knock her spine as Cassandra tossed and turned in the bed next to her. Still foggy with sleep, Rapunzel tried to ignore it; Cass was probably just having trouble getting comfortable, and would settle down in a couple of minutes. Then there was a short huff, another elbow in her side, and a low pained groan. Rapunzel was sitting up in a flash, immediately alert now that she knew something was wrong. 

“Cass?” She whispered. Cassandra stilled immediately, as if she could pretend that she was asleep the whole time, but Rapunzel was having none of it. 

“Cass, is everything alright?” She pressed again. Her eyes began adjusting to the dark ever so slightly, but she could only see the light glinting off of Cass’ eyes as she relented and opened them. 

“I’m fine,” she answered, but there was a strained note in her voice. 

“Are you sure? Because-” 

Cassandra hissed and writhed in place, and Rapunzel caught the movement of her hand moving to dig her nails into her stomach. 

“Oh no! Did you eat something that Shorty touched?” Rapunzel asked, attempting to keep her voice quiet.

“I said I’m fine,” Cassandra grunted again, but her heavy panting and constant shifting betrayed her. Rapunzel opened her mouth to argue the point, but Cassandra’s eyes widened in alarm and without a moment’s hesitation she flung the covers off of herself and bolted out of the caravan. Rapunzel hastily got up to follow her, sparing a glance around- nobody else had stirred- and tiptoed out into the forest they had set up camp in. 

Cassandra hadn’t gone far. She was bending over behind a large oak tree, hardly attempting to hide herself, and as Rapunzel approached she heard a terrible retching sound. She winced but proceeded forwards anyway, placing a (hopefully) soothing hand on Cassandra’s back as she shook and wheezed. She reached out and tucked a few stray locks back behind Cass’ ear, just in time as she hunched over again and emptied her stomach. Rapunzel continued rubbing her back throughout the ordeal, even as she cringed from the awful… awfulness of it all. Gingerly, Cass stood up straighter, although she refused to turn around and look Rapunzel in the eye. 

“I might be a little sick,” she finally admitted. 

* * *

The two of them woke the next day ill rested, for Cassandra had struggled to fall back asleep and Rapunzel had stayed awake, spending the night fussing over her to half-hearted protests. They’d hoped the sickness might pass or at least recede by the morning, but Cassandra’s illness had made itself at home. Bags sat under her eyes and sweat clung to her brow, but the worst of it was probably the black look on her face as she tried to maintain a stoic facade in spite of the pain. 

“She’s not contagious, is she?” Eugene whispered, although his attempt to keep his voice down was mostly for show. 

“No, it’s probably some kind of stomach bug,” Rapunzel replied.

“Ah. She didn't eat anything Shorty touched, did she?”

“I don't think so. But still, I don't think it’d hurt for us to see if we can find a doctor and-” 

“No!” Cassandra called out, interrupting Rapunzel from the other side of the caravan. 

“It’s a full day’s detour to get to the nearest village and we don't have that kind of time to waste. This bug will pass and we’ll stay on track,” Cassandra asserted, her grimace extra dark. Rapunzel worried her lip between her teeth and Eugene glanced between them, sensing the tension. 

“Cass I really think we should take you to a doctor, if this gets any _worse_ we’ll only be putting distance between ourselves and the village,” Rapunzel argued. 

“And _I’m_ saying that I’ll be fine- these things always pass. It’s my call, Raps,” Cassandra replied. 

“Cassandra, maybe you should-” 

“Shut it, Fitzherbert.”

Eugene glowered at her and leaned towards Rapunzel.

“I don't know how but somehow she’s even _more_ cranky when she’s sick,” he stage whispered. Cass glared back at him, but couldn’t hold back the sharp hiss that escaped her as the caravan jolted from a pothole on the road. Rapunzel winced and got up from her seat.

“I think I’ll go check on Lance and Hookfoot, see if I can't get them to drive a little more-” the caravan rocked again, “-carefully.”

Cassandra sat scowling for a moment longer after Rapunzel climbed out onto the front of the caravan, but soon gave into the temptation to collapse backwards onto the bed and curl up into herself. She loved Rapunzel, but her habit of fussing over her could get overwhelming. It wasn’t unappreciated, but going out of their way to see a doctor was surely overkill. 

“Look, I know you have an aversion to going off track and you really don’t want to make a big deal of this, but Rapunzel is going to be beside herself if you get any worse and we missed an opportunity to get you some help,” Eugene said, and sat down on the edge of the bed. Her stomach churned again. 

“And let’s face it Cass, you’re not looking so hot.”

The fact that Eugene had chosen not to tack on something like, _‘and you don’t look very hot on a normal day’_ at the end told her that he was worried too, but he wouldn’t say it in as many words. Still, she kept her glare trained on the wall.

“Let me put it like this, if it were Rapunzel who got sick would you have us drive to the village?” Eugene asked. Cassandra huffed and propped herself up on an elbow. 

“It's not the same! I’m not-”

“Not the Princess? No, of course you're not. But even if Rapunzel weren't the Princess it wouldn't matter because you're her friend, and you'd want to help her anyway.”

Cassandra couldn't argue with that. She continued to glower at Eugene even though they both knew she had to relent. And, as the caravan bounced again to the mixed sounds of Cass’ groans and Rapunzel’s muffled shouting, she reluctantly agreed that it was probably for the best. 

* * *

As it stood, rerouting their path to head towards the village spared Cassandra the trouble of having to admit she’d been wrong. Hours had passed and whatever had curled up and died inside her stomach showed no signs of leaving. Her torso was littered with angry red lines from where she had clawed at herself, letting the sharp pain at her skin distract from the throbbing ache beneath it. 

It was getting worse. 

Occasionally her heart would stutter as if it forgot that it was meant to be beating, and when she stood up from the bed she had to lean against the wall until the world around her stopped spinning. Rapunzel knew she was getting worse too, not because she had said anything but because her protests were becoming weaker and weaker in the face of the blinding pain still clutching her. Eugene was avoiding her like the plague, less due to her illness than her increasingly surly mood, while Rapunzel was hovering over her desperately hoping to be of help.

And it was a testament to how wrong she felt that she allowed it. 

The nausea had a nasty habit of coming and going at the most inconvenient times, although she’d managed to swallow down most of the bile. Eugene would never let her hear the end of it if she threw up in the caravan, and pride was a great motivator. However, the crap in her stomach wanted _out_ and keeping it down was simply aggravating her condition even more. Rapunzel was diligently bringing her stores of their water, which Cassandra continued shoving under the bed- she wasn’t going to slow this trip down any more for a litany of bathroom breaks, dehydration be damned. The ‘vitamins’ Shorty had offered her were quickly deposited out the window. At their current pace, they were due to arrive in the village by nightfall, and Cassandra dreaded the long night ahead of her. Still, she had to enjoy the little things; Eugene had drawn the short straw for the double shift to substitute her turn to drive. 

Cassandra heard Rapunzel’s featherlight footsteps enter the caravan and sat up stiffly in her bed. Her neck was stiff from lying around all day and it cracked as she stretched. Rapunzel carried a bowl of soup in her hands, and she passed it over as she sat down next to Cass on the edge of the bed. With a tight smile Cassandra accepted it, though she truly had no appetite. 

In fact, the smell of the broth only made her stomach revolt, but Rapunzel was watching her expectantly so she tentatively lifted a spoonful to her mouth and- 

She dropped the spoon back in the bowl, ignoring the hot splashes landing on her legs. 

“Sorry, I don’t think I can eat this,” she said, and her stomach grumbled in agreement. Rapunzel took the bowl back from her and set it on the bedside table. 

“I hate seeing you like this,” she whispered, almost on the verge of tears. Cassandra grimaced. It wasn’t her _fault_ , but she still hated to be the one who caused the ever bright and sunny Rapunzel to fall into such misery. Rapunzel with a frown was like a paintbrush in an armoury, so very out of place.

“Yeah, I hate being like this,” Cassandra joked, attempting to rouse a smile from her, but Rapunzel didn’t find the humour in it. 

“If only I still had my healing powers I could…” 

Cassandra grabbed her hand and squeezed it. 

“You can’t think like that, Raps. I know you love to do everything in your power to help people, but you can’t get caught up in things you can’t control,” she warned her. 

“But I can control getting you to a doctor,” Rapunzel teased, and Cassandra returned her grin, weak as it was.  
“Yeah, yeah, you won that round. Just make sure the others don’t waste their time while we’re in town and actually get us some supplies,” she said, and elbowed her gently. She wasn’t looking forward to seeing the doctor, but right now it was the lesser evil- and it had made Rapunzel feel a little better about the situation in the end, so she’d deal with it. Right now, she’d do _anything_ to stop all the fussing and the drama about how frail she was getting. 

“If you’re not hungry, maybe you should try getting some rest again? You’ll need energy when we go out tomorrow,” Rapunzel suggested and Cassandra nodded before stretching back out on the bed. She smiled dimly as Pascal hopped down and curled up on her shoulder. Although the night was cool, Cassandra had kicked the blankets off onto the floor and dragged her nightshirt up to expose her stomach, hoping to cool off the worst of the feverish heat. She half expected Rapunzel to leave and join the others, but she should have known better than to think she’d leave her side like this. And as her exhaustion won out over her discomfort, she vaguely registered the feeling of a warm hand slipping into her own. 

* * *

It was getting worse. And worse.

The throbbing pain had migrated to her head now, and it was a challenge just to walk without leaning on Rapunzel, who was adamant on being her crutch anyway. Every time they shifted she felt the world tilt on its axis and it took her a solid minute to steady in the wake of a mental earthquake. She had clearly picked up some kind of fever at some point, and her body’s mighty attempts to kill the invading disease had left her increasingly lethargic and crabby. 

Rapunzel had gone out earlier to scout out a doctor, which had now led them to a small cottage on the outskirts of town. Lance and Eugene had gone off elsewhere in the village, which meant that by now they were probably tangled up in some hairy situation that came with all sorts of wacky hijinks, but that wasn’t _their_ problem right now. Rapunzel darted forwards and knocked on the mahogany door, and Cassandra hobbled forwards to join her side. It swung open to reveal a young woman dressed in the white robes Cassandra had come to associate with a convent. Wonderful. 

“How can I help you two ladies?” She asked, the town’s regional accent sweetening her drawl. 

“Hi! We’re looking for Doctor Lindsay, we were told she’s the best doctor in the village and my friend Cassandra is really sick,” Rapunzel said and Cassandra grunted in agreement.  
“Well, you found me! And call me Linnda- let’s take a look at your friend hm?” The woman said, and ushered them inside. She led them to a side room with cupboards and shelves filled with all sorts of tinctures and concoctions and a couple of spare chairs for them all to sit down in. 

“You’re the doctor?” Rapunzel asked, helping Cassandra take a seat before she was shooed away. 

“Yeah, yeah, I know I don’t look it but what can I say? I used to tend to the church’s greenhouses and you pick up a lot about medicinal plants along the way,” she said, waving her hand casually. She spared Cassandra a shrewd glance before rifling through her drawers and eventually pulled out a kit of medieval looking utensils. 

Cassandra’s stomach churned again.

She sat stubbornly still as she was poked and prodded- a light shone into her pupil, a thermometer stuck on her tongue, _something_ stuck in her ear- until finally Linnda was satisfied. 

“It’s a good thing you came here. It’s certainly one of the more severe cases I’ve seen- your fever’s running extraordinarily high, you’re severely dehydrated, and I’m guessing you haven’t been eating at all,” she said with a pointed raised eyebrow. “I know travelling doesn’t beget great hygiene, but do you know what you might’ve been exposed to that infected you?” 

“Fucking Shorty,” Cassandra hissed, drawing a grimace from Rapunzel and a quizzical look from the doctor. 

“Nevermind- just, can you help her?” Rapunzel asked. 

“Of course, of course. First thing we’re gonna do is get you some crackers, to settle your stomach and get some salt in you,” Linnda explained, getting up off her chair to rustle through one of the cupboards. 

“You’ll also need fluids, of course, and some bedrest, but I’ve got a little something for you that should set you straight- metaphorically of course,” she said and shot a wink over her shoulder at them. Before Cassandra or Rapunzel could puzzle the meaning of it, Linnda strode back over to them with a bright purple bottle in one hand and a dull green one in the other. 

“Drink this first, and then one quarter of the other bottle for the next four days,” she instructed, lifting up the purple bottle first before gesturing to the other. “I’m sure you’ll be happy to learn that the side effects of these include drowsiness, good enough to knock you out while it does its work. I have a guest room you’re welcome to stay in for the night, too- I’d like to monitor your condition just in case, but I also imagine you’ll appreciate the indoor plumbing.” 

Cassandra nodded immediately, although she clutched at her head as the motion made her lose her balance in her chair. Both Rapunzel and the doctor winced along with her. She broke a sweat just standing up and had to lean her weight against the chair’s armrest to maintain her balance, but she still shooed away Rapunzel as she hurried to fret over her. Cassandra swallowed roughly and made a show of standing up straight as the doctor passed the purple tincture to her with a frown. 

Mercy, she detested being this weak. She popped the cork on the bottle immediately and chugged, ready for this nonsense to be over. 

* * *

Cassandra awoke from her first restful sleep to the blissful feeling of slender fingers running through her hair. Rounded nails scratched her scalp tenderly, and she let out a soft hum as she stirred. She glanced up at Rapunzel, who was looking down at her with a small but loving smile. Normally she would have flinched away by now, the unfamiliarity with such an intimate touch stirring her discomfort, but there was a thick and heavy fog in her mind that dampened such an instinct. 

“How are you feeling?” 

“I can taste blood in my throat and I can't feel my brain,” Cassandra slurred.

“Linnda said the potion might make you a little loopy for a while,” Rapunzel giggled. Cass squinted at her and tested her faculties- she could count the fingers she was holding up (there were three) but there was a sluggishness to her movements and the dreamy haze still clung to her mind. 

“Where… where are we?” she asked, surveying the unfamiliar surroundings. The furniture was rustic and homely, and the pattern of leaves on the trees outside the window sent a scatter of warm sunlight through the room. Birds sang their morning song and insects chittered away, and after weeks of travel in the practical but utilitarian caravan, Cassandra allowed herself to sink into the comfort of it all. 

“We’re at the doctor’s place, remember? She let us stay the night,” Rapunzel explained. Cassandra hummed to herself, lamenting the loss of Rapunzel’s hand from her hair and stared blearily out of the window. 

Where were they again? 

There was a light knock on the door that gave them a slight warning before Linnda opened it and peeked through. She gave them a cheery smile and stepped fully through the threshold, holding a porcelain bowl filled with a steaming broth.

“What’s up, Doc? Oh shit- do we have the rights to say that?” Cassandra muttered to herself. 

“What are you talking about?” Rapunzel giggled again. 

“I’m glad the medicine is taking effect. Here, see if you can’t finish this,” Linnda said, and placed the bowl on the bedside table. The smell of all the seasoning and spices that they didn’t have room to pack on the road floated up as the steam hit Cassandra’s face, and with a sharp pang she realised how ravenous she truly was. 

“You’re an angel,” she groaned rapturously, and her stomach growled in agreement. 

“So I’ve heard,” Linnda grinned at her. She poked around with her thermometers and prongs again as Cassandra sat up in bed to eat, ignorant of the prodding as she ate food that her body was finally willing to stomach. Then the doctor was gone- how long had she been gone? Cassandra didn’t know, but she didn’t care because the bowl in her hands was now empty and for once she didn’t feel like throwing up.

“Hello! Earth to Cassandra! Are you with me?” 

“What?” Cassandra blinked, and realised Rapunzel was now sitting on the bed next to her, her face inexplicably close. 

“I was asking you if you’re feeling better with some food in you, but you totally blanked out on me,” she replied. Cassandra stared at her, absorbing the sight of those bright green eyes and the long lashes that framed them, and the smattering of freckles underneath. She could feel her mouth running before her brain could catch up to her words, but the strict jailor that kept a leash on all her thoughts had been knocked out cold and she couldn’t muster up the energy to care. 

“Thank you for being here with me, Raps. You're such a good friend. You're such- you’re very nice,” she sighed, and rested her head on Rapunzel’s shoulder. Rapunzel let out a short _oh!_ of surprise at the movement, but she returned the embrace by wrapping her arms around Cassandra’s torso and pulling her closer. Hazel eyes glanced up at her, and a frown tugged at Cassandra’s lips. 

“Are _you_ okay?” she asked. 

“I’m just a little sad that it takes you being sedated on pain killers to feel comfortable saying that,” Rapunzel admitted. 

“I know, I’m terrible,” Cass groaned, and buried her head in Rapunzel’s shoulder.

“No! No, you're not terrible. You’re just… reserved.” 

“I’m the _worst_. Don’t tell Eugene.”

Rapunzel rubbed soothing circles on Cassandra’s back, indulging perhaps a little _too_ much in the close contact from her unusually docile state. She didn’t think there was much use in arguing with Cass at this point- she was hardly rational right now, but she still felt a pang in her heart that Cassandra would say such things about herself. It was a conversation she knew would be avoided like the plague when she was her right self again, but she wasn’t going to forget about it. 

They sat in silence for a while longer, 

“Sometimes I wish I could be like you. You’re the sun.”

Rapunzel was stunned, although as she fought to figure out how to respond she found she had missed her window, as Cassandra’s eyes slipped closed and her breathing evened out. Carefully she laid Cass back down on the bed, and only shifted away once her head was comfortably sitting on the pillow and showed no signs of stirring. She watched her drift off to sleep again with a sad smile, and wished that peaceful smile on Cassandra’s face was because of her and not the potion. Still, she took solace in the fact that it was aimed at her and mentally burned the image in her brain to draw in her journal later. 

Rapunzel slid the empty bowl off of Cassandra’s lap and left the room, shutting the door quietly behind her as she descended the stairs to the kitchen. Linnda was hovering there, busying herself with her own dirty plates and utensils to be washed, and she looked up as Rapunzel entered the room. She didn’t say anything, but still waited expectantly as Rapunzel passed the bowl over. 

“Is she going to be okay?” 

“I should think so. But while I don’t know what a Shorty is, I think you should keep her away from it from now on,” Linnda replied, and tried to give Rapunzel her best reassuring smile. 

“It’s weird seeing her like that, so placid. I hope she doesn’t feel awkward when she’s back to normal,” Rapunzel said, instinctively picking up a cloth to help dry the dishes off with. 

“Oh, she’s probably not going to remember anything,” Linnda warned her. “That tincture probably could have taken out a horse.”

“Oh. How long is she going to be like that then?”

“It’ll have mostly worn off by the time she wakes up again, and she’ll be free to go. The followup potion she needs to take might make her a little lethargic, but not delirious like this one,” Linnda explained. Rapunzel sighed inwardly in relief. The sooner they got Cass to her normal, strong and brash self, the better. 

* * *

Cassandra didn’t remember anything at all, largely because she had spent the majority of the following two days asleep. They’d been back out on the road for one of those days, once it became clear Cassandra’s health was improving and her body was allowing her to digest food again. They were all glad for it, because in turn her mood was improving and in honesty they were having trouble juggling all their duties without her, but nobody was more thankful than Cassandra herself (although Rapunzel had given her a run for her money). 

Eugene was back to poking fun at her pale skin and messy bedhair again now that her illness was passing, but thankfully Rapunzel hadn’t told him about her drug-induced lunacy or he’d be giving her a hard time about _that_ too. Of course, she didn’t remember any of it, but Rapunzel had guiltily admitted to sitting by her bedside as she rambled and raved about whatever came to her addled mind, which wasn’t the greatest thing to learn she’d done. 

Rapunzel had simply patted her hand and told her it was cute. 

Ugh. 

The caravan bed bounced as the woman in question sat down next to her, stirring her from her thoughts. 

“On the road again, huh?” Rapunzel smiled at her. 

“We’re making good time,” Cassandra noted, hoping to put that village and all of its associated memories far behind her. Rapunzel nodded twice, and Pascal bounced on her shoulder with the motion. She slid her hand over to rest atop Cassandra’s, who resisted the urge to pull away. They stared at each other, both ignoring the clammy heat as Rapunzel squeezed her hand tighter, and Cassandra waited as Raps deliberated on what she ought to say. 

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” 

“Me too,” Cassandra smiled. Rapunzel’s lips quirked upwards, but she soon fell solemn again. 

“I just… I don’t want anyone to get hurt because they followed me out here,” she admitted, ducking her head.

“It’ll be alright, Raps. You’ve got me looking out for everyone, remember? And when I’m down, I’ve got _you_ looking out for _me_ ,” Cassandra reassured her, squeezing her hand back in return. Rapunzel gazed back up at her, and they shared a soft smile. Then Eugene slammed the door open, breaking the spell. He looked pale and dishevelled, and he didn’t seem to notice the moment he had ruined at all. 

“I’ve been _infected_ ,” he wailed, and both Cassandra and Rapunzel grimaced. 

Fucking Shorty.


End file.
